Start Bucky Irving or Aaron Jones Sr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 8:41 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 25, 3:43 PM ET: Aaron Jones Sr.: Listed Questionable (Undisclosed) (Sleeper injury feed)
Oct 21, 3:43 PM ET: Bucky Irving: Listed Questionable (Illness) (Sleeper injury feed)

Irving projects lower, 12.6 to 13.7, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 45 for Irving, 110 for Jones.

Start

Bucky Irving

RB · TB · vs ATL

Market projects: 12.6; recent weeks avg
ATL D vs RB: 24.6; 8th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: High; 94 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 64%; Through Week 7
Target share: 12%; Through Week 7

Sit

Aaron Jones Sr.

RB · MIN · at DET · Questionable

Market projects: 13.7; recent weeks avg
DET D vs RB: 19.8; 10th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 20 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 25%; Through Week 7
Target share: 4%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Bucky Irving for Aaron Jones Sr.?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Aaron Jones Sr. projects 153 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (15.3 a game over 10 games), Bucky Irving 111 (12.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bucky Irving over Aaron Jones Sr. So make the move after his Week 8 game. Aaron Jones Sr. is listed questionable.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Bucky Irving over Aaron Jones Sr. in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Bucky Irving at 12.6 points and Aaron Jones Sr. at 13.7, a gap of 1.2. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Bucky Irving still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 45 against 110, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Bucky Irving this week yet, so his 12.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (11.2, 11.9 and 14.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Aaron Jones Sr. this week yet, so his 13.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 7 (16.2 and 11.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Aaron Jones Sr. yet. His market-based projections were 16.2 and 11.3 points in Weeks 5 and 7, an average of 13.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Aaron Jones Sr. is 0.6 touchdowns (10 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Bucky Irving yet. His market-based projections were 11.2, 11.9 and 14.5 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 12.6, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Bucky Irving is 0.8 touchdowns (6 market sources).

That puts Aaron Jones Sr. 1.2 points ahead of Bucky Irving on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Aaron Jones Sr. and MIN visit DET on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

DET allowed 19.8 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 10th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 80 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against DET and caught passes for 25 more yards.

Bucky Irving and TB host ATL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

ATL allowed 24.6 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 8th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 82 yards and a touchdown a game against ATL and caught passes for 39 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Bucky Irving has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Aaron Jones Sr. is listed as questionable with a undisclosed injury.

Bucky Irving is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Aaron Jones Sr. played 25 percent of MIN snaps, took 30 percent of the carries, drew 4 percent of the targets and had 20 percent of the red zone chances.

Aaron Jones Sr., Week 7 against IND: 15 of 59 snaps, 8 carries for 26 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 0 yards.

Through Week 7, Bucky Irving played 64 percent of TB snaps, took 59 percent of the carries, drew 12 percent of the targets and had 40 percent of the red zone chances.

Bucky Irving, Week 4 against GB: 37 of 64 snaps, 16 carries for 61 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Bucky Irving, Week 5 against DAL: 39 of 72 snaps, 21 carries for 165 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 10 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Bucky Irving, Week 6 against PIT: 63 of 74 snaps, 19 carries for 46 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 3 yards.

Bucky Irving, Week 7 against CAR: 37 of 63 snaps, 24 carries for 106 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Aaron Jones Sr. played 12 games for MIN and scored 118.7 PPR points, 9.9 a game, finishing RB41.

He ran 132 times for 548 yards and 2 touchdowns, and caught 28 of 41 targets for 199 yards.

He was on the field for 55 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Aaron Jones Sr., Week 17 of 2025 against DET: 35 of 54 snaps, 18 carries for 53 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 10 yards, 1 touchdown, 15.3 PPR points.

Aaron Jones Sr., Week 16 of 2025 against NYG: 39 of 61 snaps, 21 carries for 85 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 8 yards, 11.3 PPR points.

In 2025, Bucky Irving played 10 games for TB and scored 138.5 PPR points, 13.9 a game, finishing RB34.

He ran 173 times for 588 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 30 of 35 targets for 277 yards.

He was on the field for 62 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Bucky Irving for Aaron Jones Sr.?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Aaron Jones Sr. projects 153 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (15.3 a game over 10 games), Bucky Irving 111 (12.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bucky Irving over Aaron Jones Sr. So make the move after his Week 8 game. Aaron Jones Sr. is listed questionable.
Should I drop Aaron Jones Sr. for Bucky Irving?
No. Keep Aaron Jones Sr.: he projects 153 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (15.3 a game over 10 games), Bucky Irving 111 (12.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bucky Irving over Aaron Jones Sr. Aaron Jones Sr. is listed questionable.

Should I drop Aaron Jones Sr.?